Machine for attaching articles to other objects



Feb. 4, 1936. H. A. BICKFORD 2,029,353 MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTICLES TO OTHER OBJECTS Filed Aug. 10, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 4, 1936. H. A. BICKFORD MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTICLES TO OTHER OBJECTS Filed Aug. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 4. 1936. H. A. BICKFORD 2,029,353

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTICLES TO OTHER OBJECTS Filed Aug. 10, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 4, 1936 STTE PAT DFFICE MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ARTICLES TO OTHER OBJECTS Herbert A. Bickford, Warwick, R. 1., assignor to Boston Wire Stitcher Company,

Portland,

27 Claims.

This invention relates to stapling and wirestitching machines and particularly to a device for attaching articles of commerce to display cards and other objects by means of staples or like fasteners and for similar purposes.

One objectof the invention is to provide in a stapling or wire-stitching machine, means for locating the article in proper position on the object and attaching it thereto with a staple or 11 similar fastener enclosing the article.

. Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding the article and guiding the staple or like fastener into position to encompass its sides without causing undue pressure or strain to be exerted on the article itself.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for positioning the article and guiding the staple into place which, after the staple has been applied, is automatically displaced or removed from position to permit withdrawal of the card or other object to which the article is attached.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated which may be applied to use for fastening staples to milk bottle caps and similar articles to be used as a finger grip therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated adaptable for use with either hand-operated or power-driven machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated which is simple in construction, proof against derangement or getting out of order, and efficient and durable in use for the purposes specified.

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred form of construction of the device, by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a usual type of hand-stapling machine showing the present invention as applied to use therewith and illustrating the machine with its parts in position before the work is applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary view of the fo-repart of the stapling machine showing the work in place and the stapling head carried down into position for applying the staple;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the article-positioning and staple-guiding means before the work is applied thereto;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts in position to hold the work and guide the staple;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the stapling machine showing the article-locating and staple-guiding means in position before the work is applied thereto;

Fig 6 is a front elevation of the machine showing the stapling head depressed and the articlelocating and staple-guiding means in position as the staple is applied to the work;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged part-sectional View of the fore part of the machine showing the work in place with the article held by the locating means and the staple applied to attach it to the object on which it is mounted;

Fig. 8 is a composite perspective view of the automatically-operated article-positioning and staple-guiding means of the machine;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the front portion of the base of the machine showing a modified form of construction of the staple-guiding means embodying an anvil across which the staple is applied to adapt its legs to be clinched through a milk bottle cap or similar article;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 11 is a similar view in part section showing the stapling means as having been operated to drive the staple through the guides and across the anvil to clinch its legs through the article;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the articles are attached to a card or other object by the staples; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective View of a milk bottle cap showing a staple attached thereto to serve as a finger grip.

It is the present practice in merchandising small articles of commerce to attach them to display cards, easels or the like whereby they may be exhibited in attractive form on counters, in show cases or at other locations in stores and similar establishments. This method of display is used for many commodities such as toilet articles and packages of cosmetics or the like; for example, tubes of tooth paste, lipsticks, eyebrow pencils and small flasks of perfumery and other liquids packaged in similar form. In attaching such articles to a card or other object it is essential that they be handled very carefully to avoid crushing the tubes, breaking the bottles or otherwise damaging their wrappers or containers; the present invention being particularly designed to retain the article in proper position on the object and to guide the staple in its application thereto without undue pressure liable to rupture the container or puncture the wrapper or other packaging means. To this end the present invention provides a device having an opening proportioned 'theguideways il for the driver i5.

to enclose the article without pressure thereagainst and provided with guideways for directing the legs of the staple into place at the sides of the article without undue pressure thereon. In addition, the article-locating and staple-guiding means is arranged to be automatically displaced at the completion of the stapling operation so that the object and its attached article may be conveniently withdrawn from the machine without interference by the holding and guiding means. As before noted, the present invention is adapted for use with either power-driven or manuallyoperated machines and for the sake of simplification in the drawings it is herein illustrated as applied to a conventional type of hand-operated stapling machine for setting preformed staples.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated machine comprises, in general, a base 2, adapted to rest on a bench, table or other support, and an arm fipivotedto the base at 4 to sustain the stapling mechanism raised position above the work. A slidable plunger .5 at the rearward end of the arm 3 is urged downwardly by a pocketed springlii toadapt ittobear against the base 2, whereby to normallymaintain the arm in raised position as shownin Fig. 1. The arm 3 is of hollow construction to provide a magazine for.containing asupply of staples s to be successively fed to the. stapling: mechanism. .As herein shown the. staples zsare. straddled across a core? and fed forwardly within the magazineby means of a pusher 8 slidable therealong under the tension of;aiflatirihbon like"spring 9 attached to the pusher :at is. The forward end of the spring 9 is wound intoa'volute'coil at M suitably maintained under tension to draw the pusher along the core '5. The stapling'mechanism is contained within a head H2 at the forward end of the arm 5 and comprises :a staple-driver! 5 in the'form of.a flat blade. The staple-driver i5 isiformed'with lateral fins or splines ifi-slidable in vertical grooves or guideways il in the sides cfrthe head .irz. A plunger l8 carrying arha'nd-knob or presser 2c is connected-to slide the driver i 5,'being normally 'heldin raised position by a helical spring 2i to elevate the lower-edge of the driver above the foremost staple in theseries. The spring 25 is contained within the sides of the'hollow plunger 98 with its upper end bearing against the under side :of the :knob or presser Zil and its lower extremity supported on a fixed abutmentZZ. The forward end of the staple-core l terminates at As the foremost staple in the series is fed off from theend 'of the core lit is received in the guideways ll to be held suspended on a swiveled staple-supporter 25, shown by dotted'lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The staple-supporter 25 is normally held in forward position as illustrated in the drawings by means of a spherically-ended plunger 25 operated by a "helical spring 2's pocketed in a bore 28 in the head 12. Asthedriver i5 descends in the guideways ii the :staple s being driven thereby rides across ferring to Fig. 7, the top of the block 2 5 projects slightly above the top of the base 2 and is provided with the usualarcuately-shaped clincher-grooves -29:which receive the ends of the legs of the staple toibendthen inwardly as they are driven through the work to clinch them against the under side thereof. The parts of the machine thus far referred to are of known construction and. therefore not shown and described more in detail.

The means for positioning the work and guiding the staple across the sides of the article to be attached are constructed and arranged as next described. Fastened to the top of the base 2 is a substantially flat spring-plate 3i! secured in place at its rearward end by screws 35. The fore part of the spring-plate is offset upwardly at 32 and extends at a slight angle to the top of the base 2. spring-plate 33 is a rigid memberror guide-plate 33 which carries the positioning means for the article to be attached. As a preferable form of construction, the end of the spring is rabbeted into a recess on the under side of the member 333 and secured thereto by screws 3 having their heads countersunk into the spring, thus providing a flush joint between the parts. The member or plate 33 is of bifurcated form as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4:, being provided with a slotted opening 35 at its forward end. The forward portions of the sides of the slot-35 are beveled or sharply inclined outwardly toward the top to form wedgelike cam-faces 3% designed for a purpose as later explained.

Received within the slot or opening'35 in the plate-33 are a pair of-vertically and laterally movable fingers or dogs 40 constituting the means for positioning the article .and guiding the staple in applying it to the work. Referring to Fig. 8, the

Supported on the forward end of the dogs 48 are of complementary form and shape,

each comprising a rectangular rearward portion 5! having straight sides adapted to abut the vertical sides of the rearward portions of the slot 35 when the dogs are assembled in parallel spaced irelationship therein. The top of each rearward portion ti of'the dogs'li is recessed at 42 to pro- :vide a. slot for abridge-member or top'plate cs resting across the top of the guide-plate 33. The bridge-plate 43 is secured fast to the top of the :plate 33 'by means of screws 44 and extends through the slots or recesses' lz in the dogs 40 to retain the latter in ,place in the slot 35 while adapting them for vertical movement therein. The facing sides of the dogs as are provided with pairs of holes 45 servingas pockets for receiving the ends of helical springs are held under compression to force the dogs apart.

The forward ends of the dogs i'ii are provided with beveled sides i? having an inclination corresponding to that of the beveled cam-faces 33 on the sides of the slot 35 in the guide-member 33.

The inner faces at the fore partof the dogs d8 are disposed in opposite parallel planes and formed at their forward ends with vertical grooves 59 which act..as guidewaysfor thestaple as it is applied to the work. outwardly beyond thegrooves 5d the :ends of the dogs are rounded off at 5!. The vertical faces 38 on the fore part of the dogs id are offset laterally from the parallel faces on their rearward portions 5 5, thereby forming shoulders or abutments 52 which serve as stops to determine the longitudinal position of the article as it is inserted between the dogs prior 'to attaching it to the card or other object, indicated at C in Figs. 2, 7 and 12.

The method of operation of the complete stapling machine fitted with the device above described is as next explained. The machine has 'itswparts'normallypositioned as iliustrated in Fig. 1 with the stapling arm 3 held raised by the spring plunger 5 and the guide-plate 33 elevated above .thertop of the 'basez'under the tension of the spring-plate 30. The card C or other object to which the article is to be attached is placed across the top of the base 2 of the machine overlying .and resting upon the clincher-block 24 and underlying the guide-plate 33, see Fig. 2. It will be undertood that the machine is loaded with staples s straddling the core 1 in the magazine of the arm 3 and that the plunger I8 is held raised by its spring 2! with the lower edge of the driver [5 elevated above the foremost staple which has been fed into the grooves or guideways H. The

article to be attached, indicated by dash lines and designated a in Fig. 2 and illustrated in section in Fig. '7, is inserted into the opening between the sides 48 of the dogs 48 until its end brings up against the shoulders or abutments 52 on the dogs. While the article is being thus placed in position above the card C the dogs 46 are spread apart due to the pressure of the springs 46 extending therebetween. This action of the springs 46 causes the inclined faces 4'! on the sides of the dogs 46 to cooperate with the cam-faces 36 on the sides of the slot 35 in the guide-plate 33 to lift the dogs slightly above the bottom of the plate 33; the extent of upward movement of the dogs being limited by the bridge-member 43 extending through the slots 42 in the rearward portions of the dogs. With the article a. in place between the dogs and resting on the card C the machine is ready for operation and the operator has only to press down on the knob 2B to actuate the various parts of the mechanism.

The first pressureof the hand on the knob 20 causes the arm 3 to be swung downwardly on its pivot 4, it being noted that the spring 2| is of greater tension than the spring 6 so that initially the plunger I8 is maintained in raised position. As the arm 3 swings downwardly the head l2 at its forward end strikes against the top of the opposed dogs 48 as indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, first causing the guide-plate 33 to be pressed down against the card C overlying the clincher-block 24 and thereafter forcing the two dogs bodily downward in the slot 35 of the guide-plate. As the dogs 49 are forced downwardly their inclined sides ll coact with the cam-faces 35 on the sides of the slot 3'5 to draw the dogs toward each other,

whereby they are brought into the position illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 with their vertical sides 48 adjacent, but barely touching the article a. At this juncture the dogs at bring up against the top of the card C to prevent their further movement 'ries to slide the latter downwardly in the grooves or guideways l'l. Meanwhile, the staple-supporter 25 maintains the staple in close association with the driver to prevent it from dropping out of the machine should the driver halt in its descent or from other cause. As the staple s is carried downwardly in the grooves I'l its legs enter the grooves 55 in the sides of the dogs 49 to guide them along the sides of the article without danger of their becoming misplaced or canted to puncture the wrapper or injure the contents of the package being attached to the card C. As the legs of the staple slide down in the grooves 59 their ends pierce through the card C and enter the grooves 29 in the clincher-block 24 whereby they are bent toward each other and clinched against the under side of the card in the usual manner as indicated in Fig. 7.

Upon completion of the staple-setting and clinching operation, pressure on the knob 23 is released and the plunger I 8 will thereupon be slid upwardly on the head E2 to retract the stapledriver l5 into position for a subsequent operation. After the plunger it has been raised on the head I2 the stapling arm 3 will be swung upwardly under the force of its spring-plunger 5, thereby releasing the dogs 4!). Immediately the dogs are released from the pressure of the stapling head I 2 their springs force them apart, thereby causing their beveled faces 47 to ride up the camfaces 36. The dogs 38 are thus displaced away from the sides of the article a to release the legs of the staple s which has been applied to the work enclosing the sides of the article and clinched through the card C. The release of the dogs 40 allows the spring 36 to elevate the guide-plate 33 and thereby the card C is freed so that it may be drawn out of the machine with the article or attached thereto.

Usually, a plurality of articles are attached to the card C, being arranged in series therealong as illustrated in Fig. 12 of the drawings. With the present machine, after one article has been attached the card is simply drawn forward and shifted laterally to place it across the clincherblock in proper position for another article .to be inserted between the dogs and attached in the manner as previously described. In this way any number of articles may be conveniently and expeditiously attached to a card or other object, the articles being lightly held in position during the stapling operation without undue pressure thereagainst to protect their wrappers and contents from damage. The hand-machine may be operated at a high rate of speed, while in other instances the present device may be applied to use with a power-driven stapler or stitching machine so that the operator is only required to place the article on the card whereafter the staple is applied to the work automatically.

Figs. 9 to 11 illustrate a modified form of construction of the present device for use in attaching staples to objects to project thereabove in the form of a loop; for example to adapt the staples to serve as finger-grips for milk bottle caps or the like. In this form of construction a rigid anvil projects forwardly between the sides of the slot 35 in the guide-plate 33 to adapt it to support the staple while its legs are being clinched on the under side of the object; the anvil thus taking the place of the article held between the dogs in the operation of the first-described construction.

The anvil 55 is preferably formed integral with the plate 33, being constituted by a relativelynarrow rectangular bar extending forwardly from the rearward end of the slot 35 with its top depressed below the top of the plate as shown in.

:ends to swing downwardly. The dogs 6!] have ibeveled outer. sides BI and are cut awayprcham- Jfered on their facing sides parallel with the beveled faces 6!, thereby providing flat portions .through which extend pivot screws 63. The pivot :screws 63 have shouldered bodies projecting :through holes in the dogs 68 with their reduced ends screwed into the inclined sides of the slot '35, whereby to pivot the dogs on axes extending .at right-angles to the cam-faces 51. The inner ends of the dogs are cut away along their sides at 64 to provide a clearance at the sides of the anvil 55. At their forward ends the dogs 6t are :provided with vertical guiding grooves 65 for the staple, the grooves being disposed to aline with the chamfered corners of the anvil 55. A fiat, U-shaped spring 5'! fastened to the top of the plate 33 by screws 58 has its legs 69 extending forwardly and curved downwardly to bear against the rearward ends of the dogs 69 whereby to maintain their forward ends elevated as shown in Fig. 10.

With the last described form of construction the clincher-block i is preferably varied somewhat in structure from that used with the device as first described. Referring to Fig. 11, the armate grooves "H in the block it are directed outwardly instead of toward each other so as to bend the legs of the staple outwardly, this variation in the form of the clinch being in accordance with a usual practice.

'Withthe last described form of construction of the device the milk bottle cap B or other object is placed across the top of the clincher-block It] and. the bottom of the stapling head l2 brought down against the top of the dogs 60. The forward ends of the .dogs are thus caused to rock .downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 10 to that illustrated in Fig. 11 with their bottom .faces resting against the top of the cap B or other .object. Then as the staple-driver i is forced downwardly in the stapling head l2 it will drive the staple through the guideways 65 in the dogs 58 until the head or crossbar of the staple s brings up against the top of the anvil 55. At this juncture the legs of the staple will have pierced through the object B and entered the grooves H in the clincher-block to be bent outwardly to clinch them against the under side of the object.

After the staple s has been clinched through .the milk bottle cap B or other object the staple- ;driver 15 is retracted upwardly within the head 1.52 and the latter elevated above the work by the .return movement of its arm 3. As soon as the pressure on the forward ends of the dogs 59 has been released the legs 69. of the spring 611 op- ..erate to rock the dogs on their pivot screws 63, to elevate their forward ends to initial position as shown in Fig. 10. Upon the dogs being released and rocked upwardly their forward ends are spread apart to release the staple s from .their grooves 55 so that the milk bottle cap B may be withdrawn to slide the staple off from the end of the anvil 55.

With the last described embodiment of the invention staples may be applied to Various objects with the ends of their legs clinched through .the work and their cross-bars standing in spaced relation thereabove. Staples applied in this manner are'adapted to various and sundry uses besides that herein mentioned. 7

It will be observed from the foregoing that the ipresent invention provides a novel and ingenious device for attaching articles of commerce to cards and other objects or for setting staples in milk .bottle caps and other objects to project there- .above in the form of loops.

in operation, and efficient for the purposes specified.

Various modifications other than that herein shown may be made in the structure and arrangement of theparts of the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. A machine for attaching articles to cards and other objects comprising means movable to engage the article to position it on the object, and'means acting at right-angles to the plane of movement of the positioning means for applying a fastener to attach the article to the object, said positioning means acting to guide the fastener into place with respect to the article.

2. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, stapling mechanism arranged above said support, a plate pivotally mounted on and overlying the worksupport, and movable members carried by the plate and automatically operative onan article placed on the support to locate said article in register with the stapling mechanism.

3. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, stapling mechanism arranged in opposition to said support, guiding means disposed adjacent the support to overlie an object placed thereon and pivotally mounted for movement toward and away from said support, positioning members slidably mounted on said guiding means for engaging an article to position it on the object, and means for automatically operating the guiding means and positioning members previous to the stapling operation. 7

4. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, stapling mechanism arranged above said support, guiding means movable laterally with respect to the stapling mechanism, said guiding means being wholly disposed between the stapling mechanism and work-support and mounted independently thereof, and

means automatically operative during the operation of the stapling means to actuate the guiding means to position an article on the work-support to register it with the stapling mechanism.

5. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of fastener-applying means, a worksupport, work-positioning means arranged wholly between the fastener-applying means and worksupport, said work-positioning means comprising relatively movable members, and means for actuating the work-positioning means to close the relatively movable members against the sides of the work to position it in register with the fastener-applying means.

6. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means arranged above said support, a movable plate below the fastener-applying means adapted to rest against an object to hold it on the worksupport, and means carried by the plate and automatically operative to move toward the sides of an article placed on, the object to locate the article in register with the stapling means.

7. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of fastener-applying means, a work-support arranged adjacent the fastener-applying means, guiding members for the work movable laterally of the work-support, grooves in said members for guiding the legs of a staple at the sides of the work, and means automatically operative to move said guiding members toward each other to position the staple-guiding grooves and work in register with the legs of the staple and the fastener-applying means.

8. In a machine oi the type indicated, the combination of fastener-applying means, a work-sup port, guiding members movable laterally of the work-support, means for automatically moving said guiding members toward each other to position the work before the fastener is applied thereto, grooves in the guiding members for guiding the legs of a staple at the sides of the work, and means for separating the guiding members to release the legs of the staple and the work after the fastener has been applied thereto.

9. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of fastener-applying means, a work-support, a plate arranged above said support to bear against the work placed thereon and having an opening therein, positioning members located in the opening in said plate and movable toward and away from each other, said members having grooves for guiding the legs of the staple, means to move said positioning members together to locate an article placed on the work and position the guiding grooves in register with the fastenerapplying means, and means to separate said positioning members after the operation of the fastener-applying means to release the legs of the staple.

10. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means adapted to move toward theworksupport, pivotally mounted means located above the Work-support and movable with the fastenerapplying means into engagement with the work, and spaced laterally-movable members carried by the pivotally-mounted means and acting to locate an article in register with the fastenerapplying means as the latter is moved toward the work-support.

11. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means movable toward the work-support, means located between the fastener-applying means and the work-support and movable to engage the work to hold it in position, and a pair of cooperating movable members carried thereby and acting to position an article placed on the work to locate it in register with the fastenerapplying means.

12. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means movable toward the work-support, means normally maintained between the fastener-applying means and work-support and movable toward the latter with the fastener-applying means to engage the work, and means on the last-named means automatically movable toward each other during the movement of the fastener-applying means and movable away from each other upon the withdrawal of the fastenerapplying means.

13. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means movable toward the work-support, work-guiding means yieldingly sustained above the work-support and movable against the work held thereon, positioning members movable toward each other on the guiding means, means for automatically moving said members toward each other prior to the operation of the fastenerapplying means, and means for separating said positioning members after the operation of the fastener-applying means.

14. In amachine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, fastener-applying means movable toward the work-support, positioning members movable toward each other above the work-support during the operation of the fastener-applying means and provided with guideways for directing a fastener into the work, and means to separate said guiding members after the operation of the fastener-applying means to release the fastener.

15. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, a staple-driving means adjacent the work-support, a pair of workengaging dogs arranged above the support and provided with spaced parallel guideways for a staple in register with the staple-driving means, means for moving said dogs toward each other prior to the driving of the staple, and means for separating said dogs after the staple has been applied to the Work.

16. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, an anvil supported above the work-support, staple-driving means adjacent the Work-support, and guiding means for the staple movable laterally toward the anvil before the operation of the staple-driving means and movable away from the anvil after the staple has been applied to the work.

17. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, guiding means overlying the work-support to engage against the work held thereon, staple-driving means arranged above the Work-support, an anvil projecting above the Work-support, said anvil being spaced from the work-support for the insertion of work therebetween, and guiding means for the staple automatically movable into position at the sides of the anvil to guide the legs of the staple as the latter is driven across the anvil.

18. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of staple-driving means, a work-support, clincher-means on the work-support, a guide-plate yieldably supported above the Worksupport, a pair of dogs mounted to move toward each other on the guide-plate, and means operated from the staple-driving means to move said dogs to locate an article on the Work placed above the work-support.

19. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, clincher-means on the work-support, fastener-applying means arranged above the work-support, a slotted guideplate yieldingly sustained above the clincher means, dogs movable toward and away from each other in the slot of the guide-plate, and means for automatically moving the dogs toward each other prior to the operation of the staple-driving means and displacing them away from each other after the operation of the staple-applying means.

20. In a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, clincher-means on the work-support, staple-driving means movable toward the work-support, a guide-plate yieldingly sustained above the work-support to move toward the clincher-means, a pair of dogs movable toward each other on the guide-plate and formed with guideways for the staple, and means for automatically moving said dogs toward each other prior to the stapling operation and displacing them away from each other after the stapling operation.

21-; In: a machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, clincher-means on the work-support, staple-driving means movable toward the work-support, a guide-member yieldingly sustained in spaced relation to the work-support to adapt it to move toward the latter to engage against the work, dogs movable toward and away from each other on the guidemember to locate an article on the work held thereby, and means automatically operative to move the dogs toward each other-prior to the operation of the staple-driving means and to separate said dogs after the staple has been applied to the work.

22. Ina machine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, clincher-means on the work-support, staple-driving means movable toward the work-support, a guide-member yieldingly maintained in spaced relation to the work-support to adapt it to move toward the latter, a pair of dogs movable toward and away from each other on the guide-member, and camm ing-means' for moving said dogs toward each other with the movement of the staple-driving means;

23. In amachine of the type indicated, the combination of a work-support, stapling means movable toward the work-support, aguide-memcber formed with a slot with beveled faces at its ried by said; element; for engaging and positioning an-ar-ticle witli respect to the work-supporhand means for cammingthe positioning members toward= and away from-- each other during the movement: of said element respectively toward and away from thesupportn 25.111 a machine: of the type indicated, the combination ofawor-k-support, stapling mechanism arrangedabove said support, an element normally positioned abovethe support to'be moved by the stapling mechanism into engagement with the support positioning members carried-bysaid element and laterallymovable with respect to the direction of movement of the element for positioning an article on the work-support, said positioning members being actuated by the staplingmechanism after the element is-engaged with the support,- and: means for limiting the movement'ofthe positioning members.

26.: Inamachineoflthe-type indicated, the combination of awork-support, staplingmechanism movable towardthe support, a guide-member havingopposite beveled faces,-and a pair of positioning members carried by the guide-member and having: beveled faces cooperating" with the beveled faces of said guide-member, said positicning. members: being engaged by the stapling mechanism to cause the cooperating-beveled faces to move them toward each: otherto locate an article on the work-support.

27- In amachine of the type indicated, the combination-of asupport foran-object,-fastenerapplyin'gameans arrangedabove said-support, and positioning members mounted independently. of

the fastener-applying meansand disposedbelow 1 the latter and above: thesupport, saidmembers being operated automatically by the fastenerapplying means to position an article on-- the object-placed on the support in proper relation to the fastener-applyingmeans.

HERBERT A? BIGKFORD; 

